Product development and licensing
| NATURE OF BUSINESS | Product development and licensing |
| STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT | Established |
| AMOUNT REQUIRED | £120,000 |
| PREPARED TO HAVE MULTIPLE INVESTORS | Yes. Syndication can be facilitated |
| EQUITY STAKE | Negotiable |
| INVESTOR PARTICIPATION | Yes. Probably Non-exec |
| MANAGERIAL SKILLS SOUGHT | Business development and/or financial |
| LOCATION | West Midlands-based |
The company is a professional developer of original, technology-based components for massmarket products, which it patents in depth and then licenses to large multi national manufacturing and marketing companies. It is not itself a manufacturer. It is long established and consistently profitable, and has a valuable portfolio of proprietary products that already generate an escalating flow of licensing income and royalties (£1m in 2005).
Product proposals that survive the company’s rigorous in-house appraisal process are designed for (1) low cost manufacture (2) higher performance and (3) to resolve a problem with existing products. The company’s main area of expertise is spray technology (aerosols, dispensers, spray pumps, triggers and foamers). Significantly, there are over 50 global patents granted or pending, and most of the key patents have more than 15 years still to run.
The management is experienced in its field and has a demonstrably professional approach to the commercial exploitation of new technology. The company operates with an exceptionally low level of fixed costs.
The company has almost completed its core range of products and after this year will simply (1) develop variants of the current range, (2) license its products into other related markets and (3) continue to seek performance improvements. There is enormous potential profit in that strategy, which avoids the need to again undertake the development of fundamentally new technologies.
Details of the existing high calibre licensees and the ongoing negotiations with additional licensees will be provided. The current licensees are huge companies and move incredibly slowly, but they will boost our income further by finally releasing important additional products around the World next year. We charge an initial license fee, and license renewal fees are payable periodically thereafter. In addition we charge royalties on ongoing sales, against a guaranteed annual minimum. Our royalty rates are high.
Further information: University of Warwick Science Park Limited on 024 7632 3114